Outsiders Looking In
by your-lie-in-september
Summary: Because no matter how hard they tried, they could never understand mortals, much less their own children. They were doomed to forever be outsiders looking in. A series of one-shot of the musings of the gods.
1. Dionysus I

**Dionysus I**

Dionysus didn't care for Camp Half-Blood, thank you very much. He detested every minute he was stuck in that gods-forsaken camp. He despised all of the bratty demigods constantly looking to go on quests, their empty and useless chatter, and their irritating hero-complexes.

He had no love for heroes, selfish and only concerned about themselves. They were all the same with their natural disposition to fighting and their empty promises. They didn't care what happened to anyone, not really anyways.

This was before Percy Jackson came to camp. He had been hot-headed, oblivious, and only concerned about his mother. He irked him. He thought that he would turn out like every other hero, honored, conceited, and a heart breaker.

But then the first Great Prophecy came to pass. He kept Pollux alive. He handed over his knife to Luke Castellan. He was offered godhood. And, he declined.

No hero had ever declined godhood. He would have been impressed by his gall had he not been slightly offended. Instead, he asked for the pardon of the minor gods, the recognition of their children, and cabins for all the gods' s children.

This had been insignificant to him by all means. He didn't have many demigod children, anyways. All this meant is that he'd have more brats to manage.

However, when the Second Great Prophecy came into motion, things were different. Percy Jackson disappeared. He was called back to Olympus per Zeus's request. He watched from afar as his Roman and Greek children fought, slowly tearing him apart.

And when the war was won and the Greeks and Romans were united, he returned to Camp Half-Blood. There were even more campers than usual and the veteran campers were returning to their normal routine, for the most part.

Normal activities resumed but it lacked a certain spark that it once had. He noticed that whenever Annabeth laughed it didn't quite reach her eyes. He saw how Percy never left Annabeth's side and how his eyes followed her with a desperate and scared hunger in them. He could hear a Demeter camper's periodic sobs in the middle of the night when she thought no one could hear her. He observed the frustration and anger of a son Ares after he had been told by a healer that he may never fully recover from his injuries.

He acted indifferent, like he didn't care, like he didn't understand. And to some degree, he knew he could never fully understand. Demi-gods, even mortals, have bonds with each other that still eluded gods. They had no hope in understanding them.

But at least he knew that. There were so many gods who thought they understood humans. They thought being gods would allow them to understand. If anything, it alienated them. They could never understand why mortals reacted so passionately over such small issues or why they took pride in small, inconsequential things.

The truth of the matter was that did in fact care for that stupid and those bratty demi-gods. He cared too much about "Peter Johnson", "Annie Bell", "John Green", and the rest of that lot. He wished he didn't, though. He wished he didn't care about some demi-gods who one day would dead and gone. He wished that he didn't care if anyone else remember the way "Nick Angeles" called him the wine dude or that there was more to Thalia's tree than the Golden Fleece.

They all thought he didn't care about them. And that was for the best. Better for them to think that he didn't care at all rather than know that he cared too much.

Besides, as a god, he should have known better by now. Caring gets you hurt, especially when it came to mortals. They die, grow old, leave. There's nothing permanent about them. And maybe that was a beautiful things about them. They were all in the same boat of living and dying.

Gods could never be part of that. The most they could do was casually observe and not get too attached. They were doomed to forever be outsiders looking in.

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 **AN: Hey! Thanks so much for reading this one-shot. I'm planning on making more...so if anyone has a particular god they want to see leave it in the box below. I'm also hoping that the one-shots will get longer. This really just how I think the gods view the world, mortality, their kids, and what not. This is set after BoO so prepare for a lot of angst.**

 **So…..a review would be really nice right about now ;)**


	2. Hades I

**Hades I**

Hades saw no point in a person's desire to live. He had lived long enough to see people groveling at feet to return to the world of the living, to see loved ones, pursue dreams. He had lived long enough to the point where it didn't matter. He didn't have sympathy for the dreams of the dead.

But every so often, he would feel pity for them. They couldn't comprehend that their lives were truly over. He knew that every mortal feared this, deep down. Even the Olympian gods feared that they too might fade away into oblivion. They couldn't understand how humans could live day to day knowing that they would die someday.

But his thoughts about that left as soon as it came. He didn't let it bother him. He ignored and forgot it. He went on to sort the dead rewarding some, damning others. The thoughts didn't return until Nico and Bianca di Angelo reentered his life.

He had hid them away to protect them from Zeus's wrath. He wanted them to be the children of the prophecy.

But then, Biana joined the Hunters of Artemis. Nico was taken under Percy's wing. Bianca died and Nico ran away.

When he had first heard that Bianca had died, he had been outraged. She was meant to be the child of the prophecy. She was supposed to bring honor to his name and bring him the respect he deserved. But, the anger soon turned to sadness as he thought about the life his daughter could have had. She could have been happy and relatively normal.

But what could have been for Bianca wasn't important. Nico was his new priority. He was too young to be the child of the prophecy. But given a few years, he could train his son to the champion he wanted.

Nico resisted him at every attempt to make him the chosen one. He had even gone as far as to free Jackson from his dungeon and help him gain the curse of Achilles.

Then the Giant War came to pass. Nico was trapped, imprisoned, traveled through Tartarus, and nearly killed himself. He couldn't help his son through his hardships. But his soul cried in sympathy for him. He children never did have happy lives.

That was when Nico became a priority again.

He wanted him to be an exception.

He didn't understand what Nico saw in Percy that made him love him. He could never understand. The story of gods and love had always been one of infidelity. Even the best godly marriages could not compare to mortal ones.

Mortal love had a spark that godly love didn't. In mortal love there was a sacredness, a holiness surrounding it. There was something so special, that it transcend the gods.

He didn't care who Nico loved, as long as he was happy. So when Nico began dating Will Solace he didn't bat an eye. Will was the total opposite of Nico, bright, lively, and outdoorsy. He didn't think Nico would care much for someone like him. But the Solace boy keep Nico in line, made sure he took care of himself, and didn't care who he was.

Normally, such a relationship would have been impossible. Children of Hades had been long known for holding grudges in life...and regrets. He didn't want to let Nico regret anything, not staying at Camp Half-Blood, not staying for Will.

Hades, himself, had had many regrets throughout the centuries, all gods do. Humans had their fair share of regret, but theirs faded. A god's regrets never truly faded. There were left as mind numbing scars still fresh, reminders of what might have been.

He hoped Nico would never have to regret. And, may be he could.

Nico would never regret. Nico would be happy. Nico would be loved.

Why? Because he was an exception.

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 **AN: Thank you all for the wonderful reviews! Just to let you know all Olympian gods plus a few minor gods will get a place in this story...so there's that. Please keep the reviews coming. They're great motivators.**

 **Now's your cue guys! Leave your reviews, questions, comments, concerns in the box below. Thanks!**


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